Main characteristics of paint products

The paint production is historically well known as not being environmentally friendly. Its products contain harmful chemicals and substances that are dangerous for the environment and people – both employees and end-users.

A special industry

The paint and coating industry is fragmented into numerous market segments that generally fall into either decorative paints or industrial coatings. The focal company is a manufacturer and distributor of paints and coatings, and it provides paint products within four segments:

marine coatings, protective coatings, powder coatings, and decorative paints. The distribution of sales in each segment in 2019 is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Percentages of sales in 2019 (adopted from the company’s report)

38 The paint products in each segment are developed to meet the need of numerous industries and markets, which makes the paint and coating industry unique. Marine coatings are provided to the Newbuilding, Drydock, and SeaStock markets, and the focal company is a world-leading supplier within this segment.

Further, protective coatings are sold to companies active in industries related to offshore, energy, infrastructure, and hydrocarbon processing. The focal company supplies powder coatings to companies active in sectors related to appliances, furniture, building components, pipelines, and general industries. Decorative coatings are provided to commercial buildings, public buildings, and homes, serving both professionals and homeowners.

The manufacturing process and its effects on the environment

The manufacturing process of paints and coatings are quite different, though it technically can be divided into the same stages. Figure 5 shows a basic outline of the technical stages of paint production.

Figure 5: An illustration of paint production (adopted from the company’s report)

The four stages in paint production include premixing, dispersion, adjusting, and filling, and the sequence in which they come is essential. In the first stage are pigments, binders, solvents, and additives weighed and mixed. Paint is either oil-based or water-based, and they each have distinct characteristics. Oil-based paint uses organic substances as a solvent, which is the liquid

39 that carries the solid components in the paint. The solvents are, for example, mineral spirits, turpentine, and ethylene glycol (Folkehelseinstituttet 2017). The primary purpose of using a solvent is to get the correct consistency for application by brush, roller, or spray. In water-based paint, there are no solvents. The pigments are fine solid particles that contribute to color and opacity (hiding powder) to the paint and protect the binders and substrate from UV degradation. Extenders are natural or synthetic minerals like talc and clay, which are evenly dispersed in the paint. An essential component is the binder (or resin), which binds the pigments

“like glue” and sticks them to the surface. The last component is the additives, which are the specialized components that give the products their final performance and characteristics. The second stage is dispersion, which is critical for the quality of the product. During this process, the air surrounding the pigments and extenders are replaced with binders, grinding functions ground the interconnection between pigments in lumps so that each pigment can be moisturized, and the final mixture is stabilized by adding more binders. The next stage is the adjusting, where the mixture is drained into large tanks, and binders and additives are added.

The mixture is then adjusted with color and viscosity. Before the product is filled into containers, it goes through a quality control inspection to check factors such as consistency of the paint and its suitability for the application and to measure the weight to control if all the right raw materials have been added. Figure 6 shows the outline of powder coating production.

Figure 6: An illustration of powder coating production (adopted from the company’s report)

40 The process can be divided into five stages: mixing, compounding, cooling and flaking, milling and classification, and collection. In the first stage are the raw materials accurately weighed and mixed, as in paint production. However, a significant difference is that solvents are not used in powder coatings. In the compounding stage, the mix goes into an extruder where it is melted. During the third stage is the mixture cooled and broken into small flakes using a crusher. The milling process ground the flakes into a fine powder with specified particle size.

If there are any oversized particles, an airstream sorts them out and drop them down for a return to the milling chamber. The last stage is the collection. This may be a cyclone in which powder falls to the bottom while air is exhausted from the top, filtered, and then exhausted into the atmosphere or a bag filter system.

The environmental impact and the risks for both the employees and customers of the manufacturing of paints and coatings are diverse. Traditional painting materials and the manufacturing process can have harmful effects on the environment, i.e., through volatile organic compounds (VOCs), antifouling paint, and the use of heavy metals. The solvents used in oil-based paint often contain high quantities of VOCs, which are gases emitted from various substances in the solvents. VOCs can cause high levels of ozone and urban pollution, and lead to short- and long-term health effects for both employees and customers, such as damage to the brain, the nervous system, allergies, asthma, or other types of illness (Allergiviten 2016). The risks also include chemicals in manufacturing that are corrosive to the skin or dangerous through inhalation of hazardous fumes.

Further, antifouling paint (or bottom paint) is used to protect the hulls of boats from fouling by marine organisms. The most common form of antifouling coatings acts by releasing toxic compounds into the seawater adjacent to the surface. This process presents a harmful effect on the environment as these chemicals prevent the settlement and growth of fouling by killing the settling organisms (or disrupting their biochemistry) before they become permanently attached (Bleile and Rodgers 2001).

Lastly, heavy metals are present in the pigments in paint products. The exposure of heavy metals may lead to adverse health impacts such as unfavorable conditions of the respiratory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal tissues as they interfere with various physiological and biochemical processes (Ogilo, Anam, and Yusuf 2017). Consequently, due to the adverse effects mentioned, many requirements are needed to secure the safety and health of the

41 employees and the customers. Thus, numerous regulations and practices have evolved throughout the historical development of the Norwegian paint industry.